Are Mumbai's schools tobacco-free?

By Ruchika Kher |Posted 10-Feb-2014

Only 8% (18 schools) strictly follow no smoking or chewing of tobacco policies within Mumbai government schools. Only 34% (78 schools) display signboards of ‘No smoking area/ Smoking here is an offense’, inside their premises. These and many other key findings came to light through a recently-released survey of 230 government schools across Mumbai, conducted by the NGO Salaam Bombay Foundation

A survey of 230 government schools in Mumbai has revealed that the recommendations made in the WHO-Framework Convention for Tobacco Control (WHO-FCTC) for schools are not being implemented properly. The survey has revealed that most schools are still falling short when it came to putting guidelines into effect as recommended by WHO, to ensure they were tobacco-free. The survey was carried out by the NGO Salaam Bombay Foundation (SBF), a non-profit organisation, established in 2002 to empower children to say no to tobacco.

School children campaigning for a tobacco-free environment

“Children need to be safe in their environment and according to the policies made by the education ministry, every school has to be tobacco-free. Hence, to check the effects of tobacco-free campaigns and to see whether schools are following the guidelines or not, we decided to carry out this survey,” says Devika Chaddha, Programme Director, Salaam Bombay Foundation.The survey took almost a month and a half to complete, and Chaddha says that while some areas need more awareness, a few have been showing some improvement.

While among the schools surveyed, only 8% (18 schools) strictly follow no smoking or chewing of tobacco within the premises of the institution, by teachers/ students/ any staff members, 71% (164 schools) have posters depicting harmful effects of tobacco within the premises of the school. “So, there is hope,” adds Chaddha.

The way forwardTo create greater awareness about no-tobacco environments in and around school premises, SBS has started a year-long drive that includes several campaigns which they plan to undertake.

“We also have a three-year training session where we train kids from standard 7 to standard 9 about various facets of having a tobacco-free environment. This deals with informing them about various ways on how they can enforce a tobacco-free environment and apprising them about other related guidelines,” says Chaddha.

She adds that they will be working in close co-ordination with the education department of the government to ensure implementation of goals.

“We need their support in this to ensure better surroundings for school children,” she concludes.

Key findings of the survey

>> Only 8% (18 schools) strictly follow no smoking or chewing of tobacco within premises of the institution, by teachers/ students/any staff members.>> 34% (78 schools) display a sign board saying ‘No Smoking Area/ Smoking here is an offense’, inside the premises of the institution, as mandated by law. A majority of 66% don’t display any such signage.>> Only 19% (44 schools) have displayed signage ‘No sale of Tobacco within premises of School or within the radius of 100 yards’. Majority 81% don’t display any such signage.>> However, a majority, 92% (211 schools) have a copy of the cigarette and other tobacco products Act (COTPA) 2003 available with the school principal.>> Only 12% (27 schools) have a Tobacco Control Committee in place to monitor tobacco control initiatives of the school/institute. The committee meets quarterly and reports to the district administration.